Living in uncertain times...

Was there ever a time that was not full of uncertainty and change? Life changes; people grow older; politicians come and go and the world develops. Nothing stays the same. “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”. (James 4:14.)

To live confidently as Christians in uncertain times we need to pay attention and to engage with the present moment. So much of our discomfort is related to what might happen later today, tomorrow or next year. All the "what if's." If we can step back and be curious rather than always imaging the worst, we give ourselves breathing space. We can also look back at the other challenging and uncertain times we have lived through and we can have confidence in our ability to survive this new crisis or possible crisis when and if it comes to pass. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine”(Isaiah 43:1)

If we can be present to the joyful liberating limitless potential of every moment then we can live each moment. We can meet every moment with all of our senses and with the freshness and the newness of each second. If we can be present with every person we are with. If we can be aware in every place we stand of the wonder about us in our surroundings and in other people. If we do not blot out life by listening to our own music on earphones, cocooning ourselves in our own little shell. If we do not ignore all the people around us as we communicate with our friend by smart phone. We are living life to the full when we recognise Christ with us in every minute. If we can live life so fully, and experience the presence of God with us in every moment then we will have no fear of an uncertain future. We will be building a strong and resilient future in every minute of our present lives.

If we really trust God we realise that we are in this together. God cares for all people. God wants all to claim their identity and destiny as children of God. This involves trust as God does not force it on anyone. When we take hold of God by faith and begin to seek God’s way we see that we are in this together. So we become free to live in the present, to enjoy it and live one day at a time. We can neither predict nor control the future. But we can work with God who is beyond past, present, and future; therefore, we can focus on today – its problems and its blessings. We are able to be alive to what is now, trusting that the God who is with us in all of life holds us in an eternal embrace of presence and purpose. So we pray Reinhold Niebuhr's prayer written in 1943:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next. Amen.

(I wrote this article for a church magazine when the future pattern of ministry was unclear and this issue was causing some anxiety)

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net